Shu Uemura Hard Formula brow pencil in 09 Walnut Brown

Do you know want to know the best way to sell something? It's simple. Sell something that's worth buying, something that's good and works beyond expectations and pricing. That's the reason I made an unplanned purchase of the Shu Uemura Hard Formula Brow Pencil in 09 Walnut Brown (P1,400) that afternoon at Shu Uemura in Rockwell.

I'm already super happy with my In2It Waterproof Eyebrow Color which I have been using for, oh I don't know, three years now so I really wasn't looking for a new brow product at that time. But after Patrick Alcober, Shu Uemura's MUA, demonstrated how my brows look like with the Hard Formula on, I was wowed! My brows looked like they came from a Preview magazine shoot! Lol. How can I leave the store without it?

What I love about the product

I can never go wrong with this pencil because it delivers soft color that looks extremely natural, no matter how heavy my hand is. The shade, Walnut Brown, lightens my eyebrows a bit (great if I'm going for that look) and matches my hair.

Lasts all day with no smudging or budging.

The way the pencil is sharpened like a naginata sword makes it easier and quicker to use, allowing you to cover a bigger area when shading and a smaller one if needed. It comes as a normal pointed pencil but you have to have a trained Shu Uemura MUA to sharpen it for you in the sword-like shape. Kewl.

I wouldn't recommend you do this at home - you might break the pencil! The Shu Uemura staff will sharpen the pencil for you for free as long as you have it. Just drop by any Shu Uemura counter.

The pencil is quite hard, so even if you apply it with a heavy hand, you end up using only a bit of the product. I reckon a pencil can last up to a year (or more) of regular use. The brow pencil is longer than the average pencil.

Pencil doesn't look much when applied on the back of the hand, but it mixes with the oils on the brows to deliver the effect below

What I don't like about the product

I'm used to a brow powder than can perfect my brows in like 10 seconds. But with the Shu Uemura pencil, it does take longer to shape the brows perfectly; the pigmentation is a little faint. It's designed that way, so maybe I should've gotten a darker shade.

Neutral

The pencil could be cheaper, but I do think I got my money's worth.

Recommendations

I highly recommend the Shu Uemura Hard Formula brow pencil in 09 Walnut Brown to, well, anyone who needs it! It's the kind of shade that goes with most hair colors, and like I said above, it's easy to use and hard to make a mistake with. If you have a wide gaps in your brows or if you want to extend your brows nearer to your nose to create the illusion of a narrower bridge, this is the product to use. It adheres like second skin looking completely natural, unlike powder.

Another reason I recommend getting this pencil: you'll get a free brow grooming session with a Shu Uemura MUA. He'll tweeze and shape your eyebrows - for free! So hurray for that extra treat.

Brows done by Patrick. He used a couple more products here so they're a little darker.

I'm sure there are cheaper alternatives to this pencil, so if you're on a budget, you can try out the Nichido mineral pencils. They looked promising when I swatched them last weekend.

Verdict

I. love. it. I now have perfect, magazine-worthy kilay everytime I go out! If I want to go a little darker though, I use a brown powder (either from the In2It eyebrow kit or from an eyeshadow) to set the pencil with. I have just discovered the awesomeness that is the Charm dual-ended eyebrow brush so yeah! This month is practically filled with great kilay discoveries! Haha.